Every other year, the National Museum of Women in the Arts assembles an exhibition for a series called “Women to Watch,” which brings together top talent organized by region. This year’s exhibition, Heavy Metal, introduces an extra checkbox: outstanding regional artists who use metal to make their work. Metal is malleable, of course, and as a result, Heavy Metal looks much more like a typical biennial-type show—with sculpture but also painting, installation, and interventions—than a craft presentation. Rana Begum (nominated for the show by the UK Friends of NMWA) makes bright post-minimalist sculpture in powder-coated aluminum; Leila Khoury (invited by the Ohio Advisory Group) creates dour drawings in steel and concrete. Some works emphasize the formal qualities of metal, including magnetized sculpture by French artist Charlotte Charbonnel and brushed copper plates so thin they could be paper by Italian artist Serena Porrati. On the other hand, Beverly Penn (an artist picked by the Texas State Committee) casts weeds in bronze for poetic effect, rhyming “The Golden Bough” of Virgil’s Aeneid. Contrasts abound in this show, a survey of what’s happening in art today. Read more>>> The exhibition is on view to Sept. 16 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Ave. NW. $8–$10. (202) 783-5000. nmwa.org. (Kriston Capps)

OH AND ALSO

Political commentator Anthony Salvanto discusses Where Did You Get This Number?: A Pollster’s Guide to Making Sense of the World, his new book that explains and demystifies the mechanisms of polling, at Politics and Prose at The Wharf. 7 p.m. at 70 District Square SW. Free.

Touring comedian Kyle Kinane, who has appeared on Drunk History, Conan, and Workaholics, performs at 9:30 Club. 7 p.m. at 815 V St. NW. $25.

Longtime, trailblazing alt rock band Fishbone performs at the Fillmore Silver Spring. 8 p.m. at 8656 Colesville Road, Silver Spring. $25.

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